President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address comes amid a worsening crisis in Ukraine, a years long pandemic that has taken nearly 1 million American lives and an often gridlocked Congress that has stalled much of his legislative agenda.
On Tuesday, Russia escalated its attacks on Ukraine as Biden prepared to emphasize the importance of unity between NATO and the West to squeeze Russian President Vladimir Putin through economic sanctions in his address.
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The government's response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is also likely to be a key focus. While protection measures – like mask mandates – are being relaxed and cases drop in many parts of the country, the pandemic is not over, and deaths continue to climb. Meanwhile, a new major climate report, released a day before the president's March 1 address, is being described as an indictment of global leadership's inaction to address the crisis. And the latest PBS NewsHour-NPR-Marist poll finds that 56 percent of registered voters – who singled out rising inflation as a top worry – see Biden's first year in office as a failure.
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Ahead of the address, PBS NewsHour's Digital Anchor Nicole Ellis discusses how the president will speak to those issues in a series of conversations with the NewsHour's William Brangham, Lisa Desjardins and Laura Santhanam, as well as Nancy Youssef of the Wall Street Journal.
Biden gives his speech before a gridlocked Congress
The president's State of the Union is "a very important moment for presidents to try and signal who they are and win over voters from the other party," Desjardins said.
Given Biden's flagging poll numbers – 55 percent of U.S. adults said in the latest poll that they disapprove of the job he is doing – his first State of the Union address will be a critical moment in his presidency, Desjardins said.
This speech also comes on the heels of Biden's historic Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who could become the first Black woman ever confirmed to the high court.
Desjardins said that Jackson's nomination is heading for a split Senate that has been beleaguered by partisan gridlock. Biden has had several priorities of his legislative agenda stall – including Build Back Better, a nearly $2 trillion social welfare package – because of the small majority held by Democrats. The same NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll shows that 64 percent of Americans say it's more important for government officials in Washington to compromise to find solutions, rather than to stand by principle even if it means gridlock.
As COVID restrictions loosen, Americans less positive about Biden's handling of pandemic
Brangham said that even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changes its masking guidelines and several states relax rules on preventative measures, COVID-19 remains one of the biggest issues affecting Americans and the Biden administration. As the country passes 79 million cases and nears 1 million COVID-related deaths, Americans are divided over the Biden administration's leadership on the pandemic. One year ago, 62 percent of Americans approved of his leadership on the virus. That number has now fallen to 47 percent, according to the most recent poll.
The surge driven by the omicron variant revealed that COVID testing is still lagging in the U.S., due in part to "one of the original sins of this pandemic from the Trump administration," Brangham said. "Even through the Biden administration, our failure to do a better job of getting testing out there has been a huge problem, and it has really hampered our ability to respond."
More than 215 million Americans – about 65 percent – are fully vaccinated, but "That effort has largely plateaued," Brangham said. "Seemingly, the people who want to be vaccinated have been vaccinated, and it's very difficult to move those remaining people."
As Russia continues assault on Ukraine, Biden likely to make a call for defending democracy
Wall Street Journal reporter Nancy Youssef, who covers national security, said Biden is giving his State of the Union as the country faces new and old foreign policy hurdles.
Biden inherited a rocky relationship with China, which Youssef said has now been eclipsed by the worsening conflicts and pandemic.
Among Biden's biggest challenges has been the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the ending of America's longest war, an exit that critics viewed as chaotic and lacking preparation. Rather than focus on how it ended in his address, Biden may instead explain why his administration viewed pulling soldiers out of Afghanistan as necessary for the long-term goals of the United States.
However, the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has quickly overshadowed the troubled departure from Afghanistan and tensions with China.
The Russian attack on its smaller neighbor – and threats made over the past weeks – has created an ever-changing situation for Biden to navigate and may come with costs for him at home.
"We can see a situation where everyday Americans are really feeling the impact of the U.S. push to hold Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine," Youssef said.
With the conflict likely to increase energy prices, Biden will still have the opportunity to explain why short-term pain is necessary to protect the democracy and sovereignty of a European nation.
"I think one of the things you'll hear in the State of the Union is, this is about defending democracy, this is about backing allies, and part of that might demand of Americans, even after a pandemic, even after rising costs…to really put a stop to what is not just a threat to Europe but to the idea of democracy itself," Youssef added.